Looking for insights on mining history

I wouldn't say I'm a total noob, more like I hang around here a lot. Recently, I've been diving into stuff about mining and all the price hype, and I'm starting to think about how price relates to hashrate and chain security. It's a bit confusing for me, and I just can’t seem to figure it all out since I’m focusing too much on the end result instead of how to get there. So, I could really use some info on a few things. - What were some major milestones in ASIC releases, or which models made a big impact on hashrate? Should I be looking at the S3, S9, S17, and S19 as the game changers? - How long does it usually take after launching a new ASIC before it dominates the overall hashrate? - On average, what’s the lifespan of an ASIC? - Is it a good idea for a miner with super cheap electricity to keep using older, yet still profitable, equipment until it breaks? - For miners, which is more realistic: a 12-month ROI plan or a 24-month one? Thanks in advance! I know my questions might seem kinda dumb, but I’d really appreciate anyone willing to help clarify things.

Bitcoin Mining Museum[1] can partially answer your question. That website contain history of Bitcoin mining along with popular hardware at certain time. Only ASIC company can answer that. But FWIW, there's almost 4 years gap between release of Antminer S19[1] and Antminer S21[3]. Compass Mining (which is known for mining hosting service) says 3-5 years[4]. Yes, i've seen some miner claim they're doing that since old ASIC have low resell value. [1] https://bitcoinminingmuseum.com/ [2] https://www.asicminervalue.com/miners/bitmain/antminer-s19-95th [3] https://www.asicminervalue.com/miners/bitmain/antminer-s21-200th [4] https://compassmining.io/education/how-long-do-asics-last/

Mining is a business activity. If you can get old gear at a low price, immediate delivery, and have cheap electricity, it will be better than buying the latest equipment and waiting several months. Miners cannot mine at a loss, everything must be carefully calculated. Thanks for the link, I did not know that BITMAN had USB Bitcoin miner BITMAN U1,U2

Thanks for the links, I'm trying to put together something about the security of the chain for a week but it's really far more complicated than I thought, sounded like a fun essay in my mind but it way over my head. I read conflicting statements about that, hard for me to grasp but some guys talked about stopping mining when at a loss being even more of a loss, I understand that this would have been the case for companies not home miners but at the same time I don't think one could get their hands on the accounting sheets of a large company.

Thats the first ASIC miner in USB stick they release before the Antminer s1. It's not worth buying this USB stick right now because compac F usbminer is far superior than these miner. So if you are planning to buy u1 or u2 go for compact f sidehack might still selling this unit. Mining with ASIC and profitability depends on where you live and the electricity current rate we have a sticky thread here on miner support that will gives you idea before deciding to enter into this business check the link below. - https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=4636521.0

Yeah, security of Bitcoin blockchain could be very complicated. Although if you're writing essay for school or university homework, you don't have to be that detailed. Some mining company are public company, so you might able to get rough idea from their financial report.

Companies that manufacture mining hardware do not mostly do mining, but rather offer hardware and solutions. BITMAIN manages the Antpool mining pool, which allows everyone who has a mining device to participate. here is information about mining companies  https://companiesmarketcap.com/bitcoin-mining/largest-bitcoin-mining-companies-by-revenue/ Core Scientific and Marathon Digital Holdings are the largest companies with revenues of $0.50 B and $0.38 B.

Is it me reading this wrong or : https://companiesmarketcap.com/bitcoin-mining/bitcoin-mining-companies-ranked-by-pe-ratio/ are all of them overvalued and they are losing more money than they should?